On Saturday

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The day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday has been referred to by many as “Holy Saturday”. On this day, Christ was in the tomb. His body was implanted like a seed in the earth. I can imagine his disciples and friends were shocked and devastated by what happened in the preceding week. Jesus entered Jerusalem in a triumphant procession with the people shouting “Hosanna”, now a week later or less, Jesus was dead. The King they thought would save them from the Romans was crushed by them instead. 

Holy Saturday was a day for mourning and weeping. It was not a day for Easter eggs or sugary treats. Those who knew and loved Jesus the most were hiding for their lives and terrified of being next after Jesus to be hoisted up on a cross. The earth itself was uneasy, as the rocks split apart, and the sun dimmed the day before. Creation was still reeling from all of these events. On Saturday all was quiet. The tomb seemed to win out; it was still undefeated. 

We know what happened next, the tomb broke open and released God in the flesh from its grip.

However, let Holy Saturday have its place as the in-between of death and life. For all of us, this is the reality where we sit: the in-between zone of the promise of God’s Kingdom filling the earth forever, and where things currently are. 

We are uncertain and often uneasy with this tension. Yet, we must live with it. God is faithful to raise up a new world as He raised up His dear Son. Yet as we wait, we mourn and grieve. This world still crucifies and kills. This present order still rolls over the weak and helpless. The powerful still put those who protest unrighteousness and injustice to death. God’s good name is still blasphemed among the nations because of the doublemindedness of those who say they serve Jesus as they bow to the idols of power at the same time. 

Let us mourn, let us weep for the current way of things.

But let us also do so in the hope of Easter coming soon. Christ will cause what is dead to become alive again. Salvation will unfold over the earth, covering it like a warm blanket. We will see His face and be His people forever. This is the hope of the new creation; this is the hope found in Jesus the Messiah. 

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